MUMBAI: Dubai-based Middle East Television (MET), a sister concern of the Dubai-based IT company Alan Media, will launch the first Indian language satellite channel to be beamed from the Dubai Media City (DMC) from November.

The 24-hour free-to-air digital satellite Malayalee channel has been scheduled for a 1 November launch to coincide with Kerala Day. The channel will have an initial investment of $20 million, and will be beamed down through Panamsat (PAS-10) satellite at 68.5 E, say agency reports.

The channel will focus on non-resident Keralites, their lifestyles and aspirations and will also have regular blocks of Hindi and other south Indian language programming, with shows being produced mainly in the UAE. Key advantages of the channel will be its vast reach (Middle East, Far East, Africa, Europe and Australia,) and also its multi language platform.

"MET will focus primarily on news-based as well as feature programmes. Innovation will be our strength, and we have lined up a lot of exciting and refreshing topics for telecast," MET executive director Sudhir Kumar has been qouted saying in the Khaleej Times.